M&m Boyz Don't Melt

Inside football

Defenders Kenny Mcentyre And Damon Mason Make Life Miserable For The Orlando Predators' Opposition.

May 9, 2000|By L.C. Johnson of The Sentinel Staff

Kenny "The Glove" McEntyre can hurt opposing teams without laying a hand on them, which is why he led the Arena Football League with seven interceptions last season.

Damon "D-Roc" Mason did his best to make sure opponents felt every bit of his 5-foot-9, 179-pound frame last season while racking up a league-leading 116 tackles.

Together they are known as the "M&M Boyz,'' and their contrasting styles in the secondary have helped give the unbeaten Orlando Predators (3-0) one of the most feared defenses in the AFL.

"Damon is more of a striker,'' Predators Coach Jay Gruden said. "He's all over the place tackling everybody. He leads the league in tackles every year. He's got great ball skills and really attacks people when he hits them. So if they do catch the ball in front of him, he comes up and punishes them.

"Kenny on the other hand is more of a ball-hog guy and dares people to throw it his way. He goes more for the interception than the tackle. Kenny is not the most physical guy in the world. We let Damon do all of the tackling, and Kenny gets all of the interceptions. But they complement each other well."

McEntyre was given his nickname by Predators public-relations director Dan Pearson. From the first day of practice, McEntyre showed a knack for intercepting passes. Pearson sent out press clippings trumpeting the exploits of the then-rookie cornerback known as "The Glove."

"I just like to cover,'' McEntyre said. "That's my game. When they throw at me, I take it as a challenge. I like picking off balls. Sometimes [by taking chances], I come up on the short end of the stick. But most of the time, I'm coming up on the right end [with the interceptions]."

Mason brings a linebacker's mentality to the game. He has been known to hit so hard that it actually makes him woozy.

"I started out as a linebacker," Mason said. "The first time I touched a football, I was about 8 or 9 and we had a bunch of parents out there coaching the youngsters. I was fast, and they told me to go hit the man with the football. So I would run over my own players just to hit the man with the football."

Both players made an immediate impact as rookies on the Preds' ArenaBowl Championship team in 1998. Mason started all 14 games and became the first Orlando rookie since Barry Wagner to lead the team in tackles with 79. Coming off last season's league-leading tackle total, he is on track to lead the Preds for the third straight year.

"I used to think that if you led the league in tackles, then it means that teams were throwing at you a lot,'' Gruden said. "But Damon tackles everybody. He'll tackle 260-pound fullbacks. He'll tackle Kenny's guy. He's just everywhere. So it's a great tribute to him because he's not just tackling his guy.''

McEntyre joined the team during the final week of the 1998 regular season after leading NFL Europe in interceptions with five. He ended up with three interceptions in the Preds' title run and followed that up with a league-leading seven picks last season.

"It was week 14, and I told Kenny that I was going to put him in there [to start] ahead of some of these other guys who had been here," Gruden said. "So I said, `Don't make me look like a fool.' And he said, `I'm going to make you look like a genius.' And he did.

"He was really our savior in 1998 when we won the championship. We were struggling defensively in the secondary, but he came in and got a couple of interceptions in the playoffs and one more in the ArenaBowl.''

The M&M Boyz have a mutual respect for one another. There is no jealousy and they don't feel the need to compete with each other for personal stats or publicity.

"Naw, Damon knows that I'm the playmaker, and he does all of the tackling,'' McEntyre said. "I'm more of the type of guy who likes to try to make the big plays even though he makes big plays, too."

Mason will concede that McEntyre is the best glove man, but he relishes the role as best hitter for himself.

"Kenny is the best cover guy,'' Mason said. "I'm the best all-around guy because I can cover also, plus I'll hit you when I have to. So I tell Kenny that if you don't want to hit, just hold them up and I'll take care of it for you. [Our styles are] almost like night and day."